John von Radowitz in the Independent (UK): A lack of international will means the chances of bringing climate change under control may already be "slipping out of reach", scientists have warned. A study by the Swiss science university ETH Zurich shows that without an early and steep cut in greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures are not "likely" to remain less than 2C higher than pre-industrial levels. The 2C target, which experts say is needed to avert dangerous climate change, was agreed by the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in 2009.But countries that signed up to the Copenhagen Accord have yet to commit to measures far-reaching enough to meet it, according to experts. A voluntary agreement hammered out in the dying hours of last December's UN climate talks in the Danish capital is said to fall well short of the cuts required.
The new report, published today in the journal Nature Climate Change, sounds a further loud warning that time is running out. It suggests that for a "likely" chance (more than 66%) of holding warming below 2C by the end of this century, emissions must peak before 2020.
...Authors of the new study, led by Dr Joeri Rogeli, from the Swiss science university ETH Zurich, wrote: "Without a firm commitment to put in place the mechanisms to enable an early global emissions peak followed by steep reductions thereafter, there are significant risks that the 2C target, endorsed by so many nations, is already slipping out of reach."...
Air pollution from a truck, shot by Zakysant, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
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